Run is memorial for Jeremy Bitner

Organizers seek runners, walkers, volunteers and vendors to take part in the June 8 Jeremy Bitner Memorial Event to raise money for the state fallen officer fund.

“A lot of people thought a memorial for Englewood Detective Jeremy Bitner would be a good idea,” said Englewood Police Officer Chad Read, one of the organizers. “A group of police officers, firefighters and members of the Burg Simpson Law Firm agreed and began organizing the event. The goal is to remember Jeremy with a fun day for all those who attend.”

He said there was discussion to raise funds for the Bitner family, but the family requested the funds be used to help other families of fallen Colorado law enforcement officers.

Read stressed he was just one of the members of the team that organized the event, with plans to make it an annual fundraiser for the fallen officers fund.

The event is planned as a memorial to Bitner, who died May 28, 2012, when he was hit by a car while making a traffic stop.

Bitner had been with the Englewood Police Department for eight years. He was a patrol officer, member of the SWAT team and served as a training officer for new members of the department. He is survived by his wife and two children.

About 100 participants have signed up to take part in the June 8 activities that include a 5- and a 10-kilometer run, a 5-kilometer walk and a children’s fun walk. The start and finish line for the events will be at Cornerstone Park, at the corner of West Belleview Avenue and South Windermere Street.

The courses will wind through the park along the Big Dry Creek Trail and Mary Carter Greenway. It will be a certified course for those who need to record times on a measured course.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. on race day and the 5- and 10-kilometer races will start at 8 a.m. The 5-kilometer walk begins at 8:05. Awards ceremonies and prize drawings are scheduled at 1o a.m. For more information or to sign up for the event, go to www.bitnermemorialfund.org.

Once the run and walks are completed vendors will open and activities for children like face painting and inflated bounce castles will open. Fire and police vehicles will be on display.

For information on the event or to register to take part in the run or walks, go to www.bitnermemorialfund.org.